


Just a Little Bit of Your Heart

by beammeup94



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Royalty, Angst, Attempt at Humor, Demon Oh Sehun, Demons, Eventual Happy Ending, Flashbacks, M/M, Minor Original Character(s), Oh Sehun Needs a Hug, Pining, Prince Kim Jongin | Kai, Scholar Oh Sehun
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-01-23
Updated: 2021-01-30
Packaged: 2021-03-14 22:34:08
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,247
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28928121
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/beammeup94/pseuds/beammeup94
Summary: “No matter what I do, no matter how hard I try, no matter how far my efforts get me, you willalwayschoose him over me,”In all of Sehun's years as a demon, he's carried one major regret. When he's finally ready to let go of it, a familiar presence saunters his way back to Sehun at the worst possible time.
Relationships: Kim Jongin | Kai & Oh Sehun, Kim Jongin | Kai/Oh Sehun
Comments: 4
Kudos: 25





	1. The Vice-President of Hell

**Author's Note:**

> “I know I'm not you're only,  
> But I’ll still be a fool  
> ‘Cause I’m a fool for you  
> …  
> I know I’m not you’re only,  
> But at least I'm one  
> I heard a little love is better than none.”
> 
> (Just A Little Bit Of Your Heart - Ariana Grande)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Earth is going through hell, three weary adventurers seek the help of a demon to counter the effects of a madman.

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


A former demon, a sorcerer, and a detective walk wearily through the grand arch-way. Jongin rolls his shoulders and slides his pistol into his holster. The trio had made it this far, after fighting and fending off those odd-looking creatures, all that was left was to convince the man they knew was standing behind the tall black doors of his office. 

“Are you sure this guy will be able to help us?” Kyungsoo asks, casting a spell under his breath to lock the doors behind them so the creatures couldn’t follow them in. 

“He will,” Chanyeol says. But Kyungsoo did not feel any less nervous. After all, anyone would feel the same if they had to spend God knows how long in Hell.

Chanyeol took one glance at Jongin and nodded. They raised their legs to kick the doors down, but they flew open before their feet could make contact with the wood. 

“You certainly took your damn time,” a low, booming voice inside the room says. 

“We would’ve been quicker if you’d told your men I was coming,” Chanyeol grumbles,

“Dad’s men,” the man corrects. 

The doors slam shut immediately as they step into the office. “And I don’t recall anyone saying you’d visit,” the stranger continues.

Chanyeol leads the way and enters the room, the two other men following closely behind him. 

The dark brown walls ladled with shelves chock-full of what seemed like artifacts you’d find at an eccentric thrift store. Glass orbs, books, even some very outlandish statues stood on the shelves, accumulating a thick layer of dust.

The floors were covered in artifacts and books, so much so that you couldn’t even see the floor, just small gaps in between the objects so you could make your way to the end of the room. There was a large round table at the center of the room with piles of dusty old books, making it hard to see whose voice had just come from inside. 

“I sent a letter,” Chanyeol retorts, trying to make his way through the mess. Balancing on one foot and then the other, doing his best not to obstruct or damage anything as the other two men followed in his footsteps.

“To hell?— I wonder what the postman thought you were on,”

The trio finally arrives at the brown desk with neatly filed papers and supplies. The brown chair still had its back turned to the three weary travelers.

At the snap of the unknown man’s fingers, the books and artifacts levitated off the floor and promptly flew back to their shelves and cabinets. The piles of books on the table straighten themselves out and even rearrange themselves to be in alphabetical order. 

The dust that was now floating around the room formed into a small tornado of dust in the corner, sucking up all the specks of dust from all around the room. Suddenly the mini-tornado somehow evaporated from existence, leaving the office spotless. 

“You couldn’t have done that earlier?” Chanyeol says. Kyungsoo and Jongin eyed the tall man with confused expressions on their faces. “I would’ve but,— I don’t really see you as important guests, so why bother,” The man in the chair says, finally swiveling around to face the three. 

He looked polished. His hair was neatly styled to cascade in a way that would accentuate his best features. The well-fitting suit hugged his body in all the right places. And his face, sharp jaw, high cheekbones, small but full lips, and piercing blood-red eyes, undoubtedly all very handsome features making up a very handsome gentleman, was smirking up at them. 

“So, what brings you here, brother?”

Jongin and Kyungsoo whip their attention to Chanyeol. Kyungsoo gives the younger a rather rough nudge with his elbow and whispers, “This is your brother?”. “He’s adopted,” Chanyeol whispers

The demon snickers, “You say that as if you aren't either. Now answer me, what are you doing back here?”

“If you read the letter, you’d know exactly why I’m down here,” Chanyeol says to his younger sibling.

“And I already told you, it didn’t reach me. In case you hadn’t noticed, security’s gotten pretty tight since the last time you were here… But apparently, hounds and other weird-ass creatures weren’t enough. I told Yukhei to add the mythical ones,” he says, mumbling the last sentence of his complaint.

“Well, the gist of it is, some asshole’s been raving on and on about world dominance—”

“SM, I presume,”

“...Yeah. And now Lee Soo Man finally acquired all his missing resources and isn’t wasting any time to set his plan in motion,”

“And what exactly is this plan of his?”

“That’s what we’re trying to figure out,”

The man sighs and leans back in his chair, he crosses his arms and shoots a look at Chanyeol, “So, pray tell, what the hell does this have to do with me?” 

“I know about the agreement,” 

In the corner of his eye, the demon had sensed a lingering gaze set on him by an all too familiar character. The man in the chair turns to face Jongin, finally acknowledging the human’s presence. His eyes run the expanse of Jongin’s body, head to toe, and back to his eyes. He smirks, “What’s your name, handsome?” earning a loud scoff from Chanyeol. 

“His name’s none of your concern,” Kyungsoo answers, stepping in front of the human, “I don't remember asking  _ you _ , shorty,” he quips, narrowing his eyes arrogantly at the sorcerer. 

His eyes shift gazes to meet the human’s eyes again. He raises his brows expectantly, “Jongin,” the human answers. 

The response not only visibly shocks Kyungsoo and Chanyeol but Jongin as well. He intended to say a rather scathing remark about his lack of professionalism, but the demon’s fixated gaze made him feel things he dared not say. 

The demon’s smirk deepens. He leans back in his chair smugly, “Nice to meet—”

“Sehun!” Chanyeol scolds. 

The demon, Sehun, leaves Jongin one last lingering look before he gives his brother the side-eye impatiently, “You want me to defy a binding contract with one of Dad’s most influential allies? How do you think I’m gonna swing that?” the demon questions in a cantankerous tone. “November 27,” is all Chanyeol had to say. 

Noticeably losing patience, Sehun shuts his eyes in irritation, “And why would I do that again?” he asks. 

“It’s for the greater good of the world, Sehun,” 

The demon rolls his eyes, “You’ve used that excuse before. At least have the decency to come up with a new one… did you lose all your creativity up there?” Chanyeol can only deadpan at the demon in response to the question, “—That’s too bad, you always were the fun one,” Sehun shrugs.

“Wait, I don't follow. What are you talking about?” Kyungsoo speaks up. Sehun rolls his eyes yet again, “You ever heard about deals with the devil? People can get anything their hearts desire in exchange for eternity here. They sell their soul to Satan— our  _ beloved  _ father,” he sneers, “—And are treated as allies on Earth until they pass.” 

“So you're saying Lee Soo Man sold his soul to the devil to get his resources?” Jongin asks, “I'm not saying anything, I just think it could be a possibility,” Chanyeol defends. “So what happened in November?” Jongin asks. 

“Chanyeol broke his contract,”

The sorcerer and the human both turn to face the other man in awe, “You had a contract?” one of them asks, “Are you still a demon?” asks the other, “I don’t have time to explain that,”

“Alright then, if Lee Soo Man did sell his soul what does that have to do with stopping him from world domination?” Kyungsoo asks. 

Chanyeol turns back to Sehun, “I'm not doing it,” is all Sehun says, “Please,—” 

“No. I'm not jeopardizing my position just to save some planet I couldn't care less about,” Sehun says. 

“I’ll do anything,” Chanyeol adds quickly. Something in Sehun's eyes shifted when Chanyeol said those words. He meets Chanyeol’s desperate stare and sighs. His eyes rake his surroundings before he abruptly stands from his desk. He paces the space behind his desk for a while before doing a gesture with his hand. A tall glass tube full of what looked like marbles ascended from the floorboards. At the bottom of the glass, there was a screen with 97% on it. 

“I want the jade marble,” Sehun deadpans, arms crossed. “Christ,” Chanyeol grits, slotting his hands on his hips as he turns away from the desk. 

“A marble? That’s it? A little marble is all you want?” Jongin asks. Sehun’s gaze visibly softens when his eyes land on Jongin’s frame, “Chanyeol and I had this bet when we were younger. The first person to reach 100% gets first dibs on Dad’s inheritance when we come of age,” Sehun says. 

“So if we get that marble, you’ll do what exactly?” Kyungsoo asks. The demon shrugs shamelessly, “I may or may not slip in a clause in Lee Soo Man’s contract that he may or may not have already broken and order for him to be— promptly executed and for his request to be revoked,” 

“So that means—”

“It means that all of his resources— that seemingly popped out from nowhere—, all of that power he wished for, will be stripped from the world as if it was never even there. People won’t even remember who he is,”

Kyungsoo and Jongin exchange a weary look that seemingly meant more than it lets on. A look which Sehun catches, “This is your best shot. I doubt you have a better alternative,” he challenges, eyeing his brother. 

Chanyeols seethes, he sucks his teeth before grudgingly saying, “Fine, I’ll get you the damn marble,”. He begins to walk away before stopping in his tracks and turning back to Sehun, “Any idea where it might be?” he asks, “You know exactly where it is,” Sehun smirks, winking at the elder. 

As a disgruntled Chanyeol turns to walk to the door, a rather taunting “Good luck!” from the younger demon was heard. Kyungsoo and Jongin look at the demon curiously before following their friend. 

“Oh! And one more thing,” The three men turn to face Sehun. 

He does a few quick gestures with his hands and suddenly Jongin is lifted in the air as if he was tied by an invisible rope. The human shrieks as he feels his feet leave the carpeted ground and frantically struggles against his imperceptible binds. 

“Put him down!” Kyungsoo yells.

When Sehun blatantly ignores the young sorcerer, Kyungsoo mumbles a spell under his breath causing one of the nearby vases to break. Kyungsoo raises both his arms and the broken shards levitate, targeting them at Sehun. “I said. Put. Him. Down,” Kyungsoo repeats.

“He’s staying here,” Sehun says, Chanyeol gives his younger brother a look of impatience, “Sehun—”

“What? It’s not like I’m gonna hurt him… I’m just gonna keep him here with me,”

“Over my dead body,” Kyungsoo spits, 

Sehun shrugs, “That could be arranged… Paperwork might be a pain though,” the demon sneers. 

Chanyeol looked more annoyed than ever, “Just put Jongin down, Sehun. We don’t have time for this!” he scolds. “Do you think it’s wise to have a  _ human _ wandering around a castle filled with demons?” Sehun counters.

The former demon’s face suddenly wipes the expression it initially had, now favoring one that read ‘oh, shit… you’re right’. 

“You know what the others here are like, Chanyeol,” Sehun continues, seriousness lacing his every word. “He’s safer here with me and you know it,” 

“Besides, you do remember the location of your room, don’t you?” Sehun asks, after some silence. 

“Right next to Dad’s.— You used to be such a Papa’s boy, you two got along so well.— What do you think he’s gonna do when he smells a human? An attractive one, at that,” he warns, slowly spinning Jongin around to sit him on a chair gently. Kyungsoo only brings the shards in the air closer to an unfazed Sehun, “We’ll protect him—” he starts.

“Kyungsoo,” Chanyeol calls, the sorcerer keeps his gaze on Jongin. “— Sehun’s right,” he says. The statement seemed to have caught Kyungsoo’s attention. The sorcerer whips his head to look at Chanyeol incredulously. 

“Satan could and would have Jongin get eaten alive, but not before he gets his way with him first,” Chanyeol says. At those words, Kyungsoo drops the shards and they fall at Sehun’s feet. The sorcerer takes a good look at his boyfriend, “I’ll be fine, Soo,” Jongin reassures, glancing at Sehun. From where Jongin was sitting, the demon was looking down at the floor, an unreadable expression on his face. 

As Chanyeol and Kyungsoo, the latter more reluctant, approach the door, “Hurry up with it, will you? I don’t get paid for overtime,” Sehun says smugly.

Kyungsoo sighs before stepping out of the room with Chanyeol in tow, giving Sehun a warning look. One that the demon doesn’t bother to pay any attention to. With a simple gesture, the doors slam closed, leaving the human in the company of an easily irritable demon. 

“Aw, he broke the pretty vase,” Sehun pouts, quickly waving his arms about as the broken vase magically pieces itself back together. It slowly floats back to its place on the shelf as Sehun wastes no time in releasing Jongin from the imaginary ropes before turning back to his work. “You’re just gonna let me go?” Jongin asks, “Seeing as you can’t leave this room, no, not really,” Sehun answers. 

“But I could just open those doors and waltz right out of here,”

“Not unless you want to be reduced to ashes once you step even a hair out there… But if you’re into that stuff, then please, be my guest,” he replies, holding his hand up to swiftly to point at the door. He turns to walk to his seat but quickly turns back in Jongin’s direction, “I’d prefer you didn’t though,” He adds, “I just cleaned up,” he reasons. With that, Jongin slowly falls back into the comfortable armchair.

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


There was a long moment of silence between the human and the demon. As Sehun worked away at his desk, Jongin remained silent despite his many many questions. 

After some time, Jongin started to get bored. The room was starting to get more and more familiar as his eyes scanned it for the nth time. He was tapping his foot against the carpet as he stared back at a rather creepy looking head of a moose that was nailed to the wall. 

“So what do you do, exactly?” Jongin finally asks. Sehun was flipping through an old book leisurely, “Think of Satan as the President of hell, if you will. Then, that would make me the Vice-President. It was Chanyeol’s old position before he set all of hell loose just to pursue some sorcerer who loved someone else. But you already knew that.” Sehun looks up from his book to glance at Jongin.

Jongin clears his throat, “That doesn’t answer my question,”

“I’m Satan’s second in command. If he wants something done that he couldn’t be bothered to do himself, which is  _ always _ , he sends me. I maintain  _ everything _ down here, without me hell would crumble because their ‘President’ is too busy fucking and getting himself high all the damn time,— not unlike most of your presidents on the surface,” 

“So it’s a tough job, then?”

Sehun scoffs, “Understatement of the century,”

Silence. 

“Does it ever get lonely down here? You know, while you’re working your ass off?”

“Well, I wouldn’t say ‘working my ass off’. My ass is still pretty intact—”

The human raises his eyebrow, making the demon exhale deeply, “No, it doesn’t,”

“Not even a little bit?”

“What exactly are you trying to get at, here?”

“I’m just wondering how a demon, who— from the looks of things— used to be a human, doesn’t get lonely,”

Sehun sighs, “There’s no point in wanting companionship, it ruins my productivity. Besides, the one person I’d like to be with— prefers the company of someone else,”

“What—” “No more questions, just sit quietly and wait for your  _ boyfriend _ to come back,”

His tone suddenly took a sharp turn from accommodating to demanding and impatient. But Jongin wasn’t scared of the demon, oddly enough, he felt rather comfortable with him, as if he had met the man before.

“So how do you become a demon? Is it like a job ladder you have to climb once you die?”

“What did I  _ just _ say?”

“C’mon, just indulge me, please? I have nothing better to do,”

Sehun catches the look in Jongin’s eyes for a split second and almost instantaneously gives in.

“When you die and are sent down here, despite heaven’s  _ very _ forgiving screening process, you will be forced to live through your given sentence in the dungeons—”

“What kind of sentence?”

“Stuff like having to experience the major sins you committed firsthand or living through your worst nightmare, or some shit like that. Anyways, once you finish your sentence, you have the choice to stay here or go to heaven and be forgiven.— But of course, no one knows about the heaven option, except the higher-ups,”

“You don’t tell those suffering souls that they could be forgiven?”

“No, of course not… That would make us  _ nice _ . Anyways, as you said, it's sort of like a job ladder. The more evil you are the more chances you have at getting a position,”

The demon takes a pregnant pause, clasping his hands together as he clears his throat.

“But in my case, that’s not what happened,”

“So, what did?” Jongin stands up from the seat and approaches Sehun. His arms crossed against his chest as he feels the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. 

“I struck up a deal with my  _ beloved _ father,”

“What did you ask for?”

Sehun leans on his desk and looks back at Jongin and eyes him up and down, not at all as he had earlier in their meeting. He looked at Jongin with less arrogance and more longing as he said, “Something I couldn’t have,”.

Jongin scrunches his brows in confusion at the way the demon stared at him but shakes it off as Sehun just reminiscing old times.

“And did you get it?”

“It drifted even further away from me,” 

Sehun shoves his hands into his pockets and looks down at his shoes. “You see when Satan had complete control over this place and I wasn’t partly at the helm yet, he was, and still is, a trickster and a cheat. He gets off on other people’s misery, says it’s entertaining. And he thought it would be funny to cheat me out of our agreement,” 

“What an asshole,”

Sehun chuckles at Jongin’s crass comment, “He wouldn’t be Satan if he wasn’t,” he says. “Yeah, but the least he can do is honor his part of the deal,” Jongin says. “Yeah, well… I shouldn’t have been so pathetic— I was weak, too gullible,” the demon says, looking down at the floor as if he was embarrassed at himself. 

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“So, what do you expect to get out of Satan’s inheritance? Money? Fame? Glory?”

“What would I do with that?”

“I don’t know,— live in luxury?”

“Believe it or not, you don’t need money or fame to live luxuriously. It just depends on what you consider to be luxurious,”

“Ok, so nothing materialistic, I take it. Then,— what  _ do _ you want?”

The demon pauses and bites his lip in hesitation. “Just one thing, a vial of— Hold that thought,” he says. 

Sehun leaps up onto his feet and walks briskly to the center of the room, to the table with the stacks of books. He does some movements with his arms, picking out a book in the middle of the stack as the table clears itself of everything placed on it. He flips through the brown tattering pages of the book until he finally stops at his desired section. 

Jongin watches the demon from behind as Sehun stares down at the book, mouthing the words on the page to commit them to memory. He turns back to the human, with an unreadable expression. He runs his long fingers through his hair, effectively disheveling his neatly styled locks. He rubs his palms together as he takes a few steps back. 

His eyes shut as he begins to say some sort of incantation that Jongin can’t understand. The demon performs a flurry of hand gestures and movements. Before long, a glowing golden circle appears out of thin air, the edges rapidly swirling as the middle portion undistorts itself to show an unfamiliar place. 

Once the demon finishes, his eyelids flutter open to stare into the portal-like structure. He exhales a long and tired breath before turning his head to face the gawking human. 

“C’mon,” is all he says before proceeding to step into the portal. Jongin takes a few slow uncertain steps towards the gold portal but is somehow calmed when he sees the demon on the other side waiting for him. Sehun stands there, hands in his pockets and he cocks his head to the side, gesturing for Jongin to join him. “Don’t be scared, it’s not a trap, I promise,” he says kindly, a small smile gracing his face. 

He even graciously walks to the entrance of the circle and reaches a hand out to help Jongin ease his way in. 

The human stares at the outstretched hand, taking a deep breath before raising his hand to clasp the demon’s soft and warm hand. Jongin catches a glimpse of a smile on Sehun’s face but is too preoccupied with the odd sensation he feels upon entering the hole. It felt like entering a pool of water, Jongin thinks, but instead of getting soaked, he feels warm— as if he was receiving a hug. 

Once Jongin’s whole body was in, the portal immediately shuts behind them. But Jongin doesn’t worry in the slightest. His hand still holding on to the demon’s hand, his eyes begin to wander the expanse of the mysterious place Sehun had brought them to. 

The floors were tiled with rectangular reflective black tiles while the walls were shimmering green bricks. Soon, the smooth walls contorted, some parts slowly jutting out. They were jutting out in pairs, Jongin noticed, one by one as dark brown doors with golden doorknobs began to pop out in between each of them. The human gawks in awe as the once small and contained room now extended into a long and winding well-lit hallway lined with dark brown doors as far as the eye could see. 

“Where are we?”

“My memories,” 

“Your— What?”

Just as the word “memories” escaped Sehun’s mouth, Jongin diverts his eyes to look at all the doors again. Little rectangles of gold plates poofed onto each door each respective plate having a designated month, year and location emblazoned on them. 

Sehun casually walks to the 6th door on the left with the awestruck human tailing behind him. The demon stops at the door and Jongin reads the gold plate, “ _ March 670 Silla” _

“What are we doing here?” the human asks as Sehun clasps the golden knob, “Answering your questions,” he says simply as he turns the doorknob and pushes the dark brown door open. 

Jongin squints his eyes and adjusts to the brightness before opening them to a beautiful sight.

  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [<3](https://twitter.com/beammeup_94)
> 
> I know I already posted this, but let's just pretend I didn't 😅. I just made some edits to this fic. Nothing too major in terms of plot, it's mostly just me being the nitpicker that I am. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, comments and kudos are always appreciated ☺️.


	2. The Prince of Silla

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun takes Jongin on a trip to the past.

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_March 670 Silla_ **

_ A young handsome prince is ushered into the palace after his father, King Munmu, summons his presence. The prince saunters into the hall and is greeted by bowing servants and guards who he pays no attention to. He fixes his hair, to reduce the chances of his father making any further comments on its constant unkemptness.  _

_ He just wishes this meeting would end as quickly as possible. He had lessons after this, lessons that he greatly looked forward to because it meant seeing his tutor, the very attractive, newly appointed scholar tasked to mentor the young prince in his studies— but his father needn’t know about that.  _

_ The doors to the hall were opened after he was announced and the prince walks into the hall. He bows to his father before looking up into his eyes. “What kept you so long?” the king asked sternly. “I had my training this morning, my king,” the prince replied.  _

_ “Did I not say it was a matter of urgency?” _

_ “With all due respect, Father, I am here now, so please, tell me what it is you have been yearning to tell me. I still have my lessons to get to,”  _

_ The prince kept a straight face and pushed the thought of his tutor to the back of his mind. ‘Now is not the time to think of him,’ he thinks. But fails miserably as he nearly dozes off into the recesses of his brain that were filled with the thoughts of his tutor. _

_ The king grumbles, shifting ever so slightly on his throne. “As you know, the Tang forces are still occupying the Baekje and Goguryeo territories. It has been brought to my attention that the number of our men have significantly decreased in the aftermath of our previous battle. However, after consulting my advisors, the only way we will be able to claim what is rightfully ours is if we forge alliances with the remaining resistance leaders of Goguryeo,” _

_ At this point, the young prince had an inkling of an idea of what his father was about to say next, and he knew it would not please him in the slightest.  _

_ “Your sisters have agreed to marry Geom Mojang’s children. While you are to marry, resistance leader, Do Anseung’s son,” _

_ The news immediately disheartened the prince, “What of Junmyeon? Jongdae or Minseok? Why am I to be used as your pawn in stopping the Tang Dynasty’s domination?” he refutes. _

_ The king, growing more and more irritated by the minute, answers his son, “Junmyeon wrote to me, he has chosen his bride, a noblewoman named Im Yoona, the daughter of my most trusted court official. Minseok is away leading our troops into battle, there would be no point in him serving as an alliance builder and a suitable husband if he is too focused on war and glory for our kingdom. And Jongdae, as you know, is already married, and has produced a healthy heir to my throne with another rumored to be on the way. While here you are, wasting your life away on liquor and prostitutes! The least you can do is forge a formidable ally and be a true son to the nation! It’s high time you start acting like a respectable member of the royal family and not like some filthy son of a shoemaker!” _

_ After their short conversation, the prince whose head was spinning from the influx of information provided to him by his father about his soon-to-be fiancee, and his responsibilities as a dutiful husband. He rushes to the library to meet his tutor for his lessons which he so craved to have since the day began.  _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“I was a prince in my past life?!” Jongin exclaims, gawking at himself in his prince form. He looked his figure up and down as the prince stood still. His robes and hair flying in the wind, paused in motion as if he was a wax figure at a museum. 

“Yes, you were. Now can we continue please?” Sehun asks, promptly starting the memory up again.

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


_ In recent days, since the scholar’s arrival, it had been the same. The young prince waking up and immediately thinking of his handsome tutor. And for the rest of the day, he longed for nothing else but the scholar’s undivided attention.  _

_ In all honesty, if given a choice, the prince would suggest that he marry his tutor, however, he knew too well that the king would not approve. Especially not now that he is engaged to marry a stranger who he had never even met, let alone heard of.  _

_ This scholar has only served the prince for a few months, still relatively young and fresh-minded. Also, not to mention, Prince Jongin’s newest fascination.  _

_ The prince opens the doors to the palace’s library. His eyes automatically gravitate to the young scholar flipping through the pages of a book. The light of the sun coming in through the windows and resting on his frame.  _

_ “I apologize for my tardiness.” Jongin apologizes, “Have you been waiting long?” he asks. “No, Your Highness. Let us begin, shall we?” the scholar says.  _

_ “How many times must I remind you, you needn’t call me by my royal title,” _

_ “I must follow protocols, Sir,” _

_ “There is no one else here, please, call me Jongin,” _

_ “I’m afraid I cannot,” _

_ “As your prince, I demand it,—no, command it,” _

_ The scholar smiles at the prince’s words, proceeding to look back down at the book he was preoccupied with. Jongin could feel his heart beating erratically when their eyes meet again. “If it is what your Highness wishes,— very well… Jongin,”  _

_ Jongin smiles back at his tutor, “And in return, I shall call you Sehun, seeing as we are close in age. No more honorifics or titles, is that understood?” the prince asks. To which the scholar only replies with a single nod. Not long after, they proceed to have Jongin’s lesson.  _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“So you were a scholar,” Jongin muses, squatting down to inspect Sehun’s features. “Yes,... anything the matter with that?” Sehun asks, amused at the human’s interest. “No, I just thought you would’ve fit the bill if you were a prince,” Jongin responds, looking back up at the demon before standing back up on his feet. 

“Oh?”

“Well, you’re intelligent and— attractive, I can see you being a useful tool in building alliances somehow,”

The demon just nods before the memory continued playing. Effectively distracting Jongin so he couldn’t see the pink tint creeping onto Sehun’s face. However, while Sehun was trying to get his cheeks to cool down, just standing right next to him, the human had also begun to blush just as profusely as the demon.

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


_ Throughout the rest of the lesson, Jongin couldn’t help but feel distracted. At one point he nearly tipped over the side because he was leaning over to rest his elbow on the table but missed. “Are you alright?” Sehun asks him.  _

_ “I’m sorry, I’m just distracted... Father says I am to marry Do Anseung’s son,” Jongin replies, composing himself from the embarrassing occurrence. _

_ The scholar freezes. His hand loses its grip on his brush, nearly ruining his perfect handwriting. He remains speechless for a time, “Oh— My utmost congratulations, you must be… very happy,” Sehun musters. _

_ “Should I be?” _

_ The question catches the scholar off-guard. He looks at the prince and is immediately flustered at the prince’s gaze. Sehun clears his throat and sets his brush down as he composes himself.  _

_ “I should think so,” he replies, “After all, you are bringing glory and victory to your kingdom,” Sehun adds. _

_ Jongin glances out the window, dejectedly, “I have never even met the man, let alone heard of him. Call me old fashioned, but I always thought that I would be able to choose my husband,” _

_ “I’m sure your husband-to-be has his qualities,” Sehun assures. _

_ “That does not mean I can love him,” _

_ The scholar sighs, setting his clasped hands on the table. “Jongin,— you should know by now, that your happiness is merely a byproduct. Whether you like it or not, your duties lie with our country and if protecting her means that you will be miserable,— I’m sorry to say but it is your sole obligation to give your life up for her,” _

_ The prince looks at his teacher desperately, as if he wanted him to take it all back. Despite knowing that Sehun was right.  _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_Some days after that conversation_ **

_ The prince was strolling around the palace, letting the sound of the soft songs of the birds and the leaves floating with the wind take over his senses. His hands clasped behind his back as he walked in silence, taking in the beauty of nature, how the trees and its branches bent and swayed with the wind, and how green and vibrant the grass and foliage were.  _

_ Then, his eyes land on a figure he knew all too well. And all of a sudden, the calmness Jongin felt from his surroundings were quickly blown out from his body as if the wind had carried the calm feeling along with the leaves  _ _ floating about. Now, all he could feel was his heart pounding in his chest, he seemed to have forgotten how to breathe, but the feeling was far from new, especially when the scholar was concerned.  _

__

_ “Sehun!” the prince calls out after the scholar.  _

__

_ The man turns back and right on cue, the wind blew in his direction and his long, black, silky hair and bright blue robes blew in the wind.  _

__

_ He was stunning.  _

__

_ So much so, he put even the most exquisite of paintings to shame. There the scholar stood, looking back at the prince with a welcoming smile on his face.  _

__

_ Pushing his rather indecent thoughts to the back of his mind, Jongin briskly walks up to the scholar. Sehun watches as the prince runs towards him like an excited child, while a soft smile creeps up onto his face. _

__

_ Sehun begins to bow as he greets the prince, “Your Highne—” _

_ “Enough of that. We had an agreement, remember?” _

_ “There are royal guards and servants present, it would be unwise of me to address you as anything more than a pupil outside of our lessons,” _

_ “But we are friends, aren’t we?”  _

__

_ The question catches the scholar off-guard as a blinding hopeful smile makes its way onto Jongin’s face. The prince seemed to be constantly catching Sehun off-guard nowadays. Sehun notices how the prince’s dimple deepened as his smile grew, which caused the scholar to smile, too. “Yes, I suppose we are,” he replies.  _

__

_ “Why did you call for me?” Sehun asks breaking Jongin’s rather blatant ogling at the scholar’s face, more particularly his lips. “Oh!— Right, I called… Uhm,— I wanted to… to give you something,” Jongin blurts, before he scrambles to find anything in his pockets that he could use as a token of sorts.  _

__

_ Honestly, Jongin only called after the man to talk to him and have an excuse to get a good look at his face again. As you can imagine the scholar’s question caught him by surprise as he didn’t have a reason that he could say outright to the other man.  _

__

_ The scholar watches on, curiously, as the prince quickly digs deep into his pockets, stifling a chuckle that threatened to escape his lips when the prince made comments about the things he kept on his person. _

__

_ Finally, Jongin feels a smooth circular object in his right pocket and takes it out. “Here,”  _

__

_ “A jade marble?” Sehun asks, curiously taking the small spherical object into his hand _

_ “Yes,” _

_ “Why?” _

_ “Why? Well— I… I just wanted to give that to you,— as–as a thank you for being so patient with me. Yes! As a thank you. I can imagine it hasn’t been easy to educate me, as I’m told, I can be quite stubborn when I want to be,” Jongin says sheepishly. _

__

_ Sehun smiles in amusement at the prince and inspects the marble. It was a deep shade of green and had hints of golden specks scattered about its surface. “It’s very beautiful, thank you,” _

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_Some more days after that_ **

_ Jongin sat himself down in front of the scholar, straightening out his clothes. Sehun was preparing the material they were about to study, while the young prince watched him. He studied every feature of Sehun’s face, taking note of even the most minute of details.  _

_ So far, he’d taken note of only the following, as he’d been much too distracted by the scholar’s lips to notice more of Sehun’s handsome features. _

_ The scholar had a scar on his right cheek, very small, and almost unnoticeable.  _

_ The prince hadn’t noticed it before, but the scholar’s eyes were asymmetrical, and so were his eyebrows. Nevertheless, they added to his glorious beauty.  _

_ Sehun looks up to catch the prince staring intently at him, but the royal doesn’t avert his gaze. Sehun looks back at the prince in curiosity, “Is something the matter?” _

_ “Your face— it’s too— distracting,” Jongin replies. “I beg your pardon?” _

_ “You’re much too handsome,” the prince complains, pouting his lips and finally looking down at his hands.  _

_ Sehun clears his throat and fiddles with his hanbok, “My apologies.— Would you like me to wear a veil? Or shall I cover myself with a handkerchief?” Sehun responds monotonously, unfazed by the prince’s compliment.  _

_ Jongin giggles at the scholar’s suggestion, “That will not be necessary,”  _

_ “I should think it is if you are to pay any attention to your lessons,” _

_ “It is not as if I was paying attention before,” _

_ “You mean to tell me you’ve learned nothing?” _

_ “I’m only kidding you, Sehun,” _

_ The scholar gives Jongin a disbelieving look before doing something the prince certainly hadn’t expected out of him. Sehun rests his forearms on the table and leans forward so his and Jongin’s faces only a few inches apart. The prince’s breathing hitches, he seems to have forgotten how to breathe again while his eyes dart down to the scholar’s lips and back to his eyes again.  _

_ The prince has had his fair share of courtships. He’s been known to be the most sought-after bachelor in their kingdom, partly because of his position, but mostly for his handsome and very striking and sharp features. He was a ladies’ man and he knew how to use it to his advantage. Until this point, among the many women the prince was known to have courted, Jongin had two major links, one with a princess of one of the now dilapidated kingdoms. And even a foreign heiress who came with her brother to settle a trade agreement with the king.  _

_ Both of whom he did court, however, both relationships were short-lived simply because he did not see himself spending his life with either of them. It is also important to note that he usually felt as if it was his obligation to court these women. He would not have bothered to even spare them a glance if not for his father breathing down his neck to settle down.  _

_ Jongin was always sure of himself, it was one of the many things that drew women and even men to him. He knew where his strengths were and he was confident in his talents. No one had ever been able to beat the prince at anything, among his brothers and sisters, he was the prodigy.  _

_ Naturally, he knew that he was bound to be talented at most things and was very proud to have acquired his skill set. However, among his siblings, he still has not found his calling. Because of his talent in most activities, he struggled to find one where he was particularly exceptional.  _

_ One day, the king proposed that Jongin continue his studies, seeing as he had nothing else to do in his life other than boast about his accomplishments, drown himself in liquor, and consistently drag their honorable lineage through the mud.  _

_ King Munmu heard of a young scholar, the son of his mentor when he was Jongin’s age and was immediately taken with the young intellectual. Sehun had a vast knowledge of most subjects, surpassing even that of his father’s. Needless to say, the king was greatly impressed and Sehun was hired to be Jongin’s tutor that very same day.  _

_ The prince’s first encounter with the handsome scholar was after their first scheduled lesson. Jongin failed to attend their first session, much to Sehun’s chagrin and the king’s annoyance.  _

_ The king assumes that his son was busying himself with some endeavor that would sully the great Kim dynasty, such as potentially impregnating some commoner, or making his daily trip down to the local brewery to guzzle as much alcohol as he could take. However, unbeknownst to most, Jongin was busy that afternoon entertaining the children at the local orphanage, dancing, playing, and reading to them, an activity he enjoyed partaking in without the knowledge of his father.  _

_ Sehun waited in the library for hours for the young prince but was quickly irritated when his royal highness hadn’t bothered to come. They met formally in the royal bathhouse of all places, with both men being very much exposed (as you would be in a bathhouse). At the time, the prince had not known that the man bathing in the opposite pool was his mentor, rather, the prevailing thought encompassing his mind was that he found him extremely attractive.  _

_ For the first time, Jongin was gawking at a stranger for his striking features, an occurrence that would usually happen the other way around.  _

_ When Jongin finally attended his lessons, he was pleasantly surprised to see ‘the handsome bathhouse fellow’ sitting quietly at one of the tables, nose buried in a book.  _

_ It was then when Jongin knew he had just encountered a new feeling invoked in him by the newcomer. He was curious as to what exactly this feeling of tingling in his stomach, and his shortage of breath was.  _

_ Every time he so much as glanced at Sehun or even recognized an obscure part of the scholar’s body, the hairs on the back of his neck would stand up, his palms would sweat, and he almost always forgets how to breathe. Not much unlike what was happening now.  _

_ Jongin swallows, frozen in his spot while Sehun squints his eyes slightly and furrows his brow. He brings his hand up to Jongin’s head. He plucks out the small flower petal the blew in through the window off of the prince’s hair and leans back into his seat, finally letting a wave of relief wash over the prince. “What– What was that?” Jongin stutters, clearing his throat.  _

_ The corner of the scholar’s lip quirks, “There was a flower petal in your hair,” he answers, sliding over a book and proceeding to pick up where they left off in their lesson the previous day.  _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“Was I crushing on you?”

“Isn’t it obvious?”

“But why you? I could’ve been swooning over some prince or nobleman but I settle for an uptight scholar, of all people?”

The demon looks at the human, visibly scandalized, “You were just saying a few moments ago that I ‘fit the bill as a prince’,” he says, mimicking Jongin’s tone of voice. 

“I do not sound like that!”

“Yes, you do,”

Jongin punches Sehun’s arm softly, “What I meant was, judging from what you look like now, you seemed like you could’ve been a prince in your past life,”

“So after actually seeing me in my past life, you don’t think I could’ve been prince material?”

Jongin pauses, glancing back at the young scholar in the paused memory. Sehun as a scholar was undoubtedly very handsome. Attractive enough to fool people into thinking he was, in fact, a prince or someone of a higher social class. 

His long, silky, black hair styled neatly into a half-updo, with some loose strands framing his face. And his light blue hanbok suited him very nicely. His smooth, pale, and porcelain-like skin made it look like he was glowing, and his eyes,  _ ‘Oh, his eyes’ _ Jongin thought, they were a deep brown in hue, but they seemed to sparkle whenever you looked right into them. 

It wasn’t hard to guess why the prince fell for him. Jongin simply remains mum until Sehun was about to resume the memory, “I didn’t say that,” he mumbles. Sehun refrains from mentioning anything else of Jongin’s reply. “Come on, we’re going to another door now,” he says as a familiar dark brown door materializes in front of them and the demon leads them back into the long hallway. But as they leave, Jongin notices that they exited through a different door from the one they had entered before. 

Sehun’s dress shoe heels clicked against the tiled floor as Jongin followed him to the next door. “It’s funny, I look the same as I did then… Of course, I don’t have as glorious of a mane as prince me, but overall,— I haven’t changed one bit, have I?” Jongin muses. Unbeknownst to Jongin, the demon was staring at the human as he talked and they walked along the corridor. A look that showed deep longing and prolonged heartache. “No. No, you haven’t” Sehun answers sadly. 

“How are your memories arranged?” Jongin asks when his eyes land on a few of the emblazoned plates. 

“They’re supposed to be sorted according to months each year. But in this case, I only chose a few specific events to show you, we can’t be here all day, after all. Besides, I’d like to skip the boring parts, if you don’t mind,” He says as the human merely nods along when the demon opens another door.

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_A few days after the previous memory,_ **

_ Sehun continues to teach Jongin on a variety of subjects. In today’s lesson, the king ordered that Jongin be educated on the different kingdoms and their different practices, cultures, and whatnot, so he will be able to join in the conversation when the resistance leader’s son arrives.  _

_ As the days fly by, Jongin’s feelings for Sehun continuously grow until he is sure that he has finally reached the point of no return. He loves the scholar. He has never been more sure. All the discreet glances and smiles they shared never failed to make Jongin breathless and a flustered, blushing mess.  _

_ Their lesson comes to a close when Jongin suddenly asks the scholar, “Sehun, you’re a philosopher, aren’t you?”  _

_ “I’d like to think I am,” Sehun nods.  _

_ “Can I ask you something?” _

_ “Of course,” _

_ “How do you know if you… love someone?” _

_ The scholar looks at the prince with an unreadable expression, he almost looked like he longed for something.  _

_ Sehun sighs and averts his gaze to look upon the swaying trees. “When you are love, it’s as if you were looking at the world through rose-colored spectacles,” He starts. “At the sight of your beloved, you will feel erratic palpitations in your chest. The mere thought of them makes your worries dissipate. Essentially, they make you feel as if they are the most important entity in the universe. Their happiness and wellbeing become your utmost responsibility,” Sehun smiles softly. _

_ “This person can make you feel excited, flustered… and talking to them feels almost as if you were floating high above the clouds— and as you look down at the majesty of the world below, you realize there’s something else that’s far more breathtaking… Not even the greatest of views can compare to the sight of them smiling at you. And suddenly, everything that once used to be sorrowful and unbearably dull becomes lighter,— brighter, more interesting for seemingly no logical reason whatsoever… Being in love makes you do unbelievable things— unspeakable things, but you do them… for that one person. For the possibility of seeing that one person’s stunning smile radiate such warmth and light because of you. And when it happens… it’s true when I say, virtually nothing else in this world holds a candle to the feeling,” _

_ “Have you ever felt that?” _

_ Sehun looks at the smiling prince, and he feels his heart go a hundred beats a minute, “I have.— I am feeling it,” _

_ Normally, Jongin would have thought that his feelings for the scholar were now a lost cause, however, when he sees the scholar looking back at him, he feels his face heat up and his heart pounding out of his chest.  _

_ “I do not know if I am even permitted to love this person. I have to hold back my advances, I keep at a distance, but the feeling is very much there,” The scholar continues. _

_ Sehun being intelligent and a far cry from oblivious knew of the prince’s infatuation with him. In the beginning, he found it troubling. If anyone were to know about the prince’s little secret, he could be banished from the palace grounds and left to live off scraps. With that horrific future in mind, he did everything he could to banish any thoughts for the royal that could potentially cost him his livelihood. His efforts proved to be futile, however. Being the joyful, charming, and naturally charismatic prince he was, certainly did not make matters any easier for the scholar. _

_ First, Sehun found himself staring at the prince for far longer than he should have been. Soon enough, images of the prince were never too far from his mind. The day Jongin gave him the jade marble, only confirmed his worst fear. To make matters worse, the prince was now engaged to be married to a resistance leader’s son.  _

_ Sehun knew far too well that if the situation got out of hand, both he and Jongin will have to suffer the consequences. Sehun also knew that the prince’s mere infatuation may simply blow away like a petal in the wind and he preferred not to get his heart trampled upon when Jongin inevitably marries another.  _

_ “What if someone loves a person but has to marry another, do you think the feelings could fade?” the prince asks, eyes staring deeply into the scholars. _

_ “It would depend on how fickle their love is,” Sehun answers. _

_ “If their love is strong, would you say it was worth fighting for? Even if it meant death by a thousand cuts?” _

_ The scholar looks into the prince’s eyes, catching a glint of golden brown in them.  _

_ Sehun’s intended answer was no. Naturally, he must say no. This little secret could cause the downfall of the already crumbling kingdom, but in a moment of weakness, Sehun just could not bring himself to lie about such matters, not when the prince was gazing at him with much intensity. _

_ “Yes,” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [X](https://twitter.com/beammeup_94)
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this chapter!


	3. The Prince and His Scholar

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_Nights later,_ **

_ Loud knocks were coming from his door, promptly startling the scholar. He walks to his door, opens it, and is met by a disheveled prince in a cloak over his nightshirt.  _

_ “I refuse to go on like this,” Jongin grits. _

_ “What are—” _

_ “You. You have consumed every possible aspect of me. I wake every dawn and it’s you. When I walk among the flowers in the spring, it’s you. When the wind blows, it’s you. When the brook babbles, it’s you. When the birds sing, it’s you. When I lay to sleep and dream, it’s you, in all your handsome and ethereal glory that now brings both pain and utter bliss to me. It’s you! You encompass my mind, my senses, all that I am, and more. Everything— everywhere I turn reminds me of you! I can no longer live in peace knowing that you are so close and so within my reach but I cannot have you. How can I possibly marry someone and offer my life and my whole being to them while the thought of you still clouds my senses?”  _

_ Sehun, who up till this point was utterly flabbergasted at the prince’s confession, pulls Jongin into his quarters and shuts the door behind them. “What on earth are you thinking? You could have been seen! Or worse, heard!”  _

_ “Are you ashamed of the way I feel for you?!” _

_ “Jongin—” _

_ “When you told me you had strong feelings for someone... were you talking about me?” _

_ “I—” _

_ “Or were you simply toying with my emotions?!” _

_ “Of course not,—” _

_ “Then why?”  _

_ The prince takes a step towards the scholar, significantly decreasing the space between them.  _

_ “Why must we suffer like this?”  _

_ Sehun sighs and bows his head, “We both know that if you refuse to marry Do Anseung’s son, the king will be far from pleased,” at this, he plucks up the courage to look at the prince. “And if he finds out that you prefer to marry your tutor than the son of a vital resistance leader who can bring justice and glory to the kingdom, he will have my head and you will be left to live in misery,” _

_ “And what of you? When I marry whoever it is I am betrothed to, will you stand idly by and watch? You say I will be miserable, but you forget that you will be as wretched as I will be,” _

_ The scholar remains silent, averting his eyes from the irresistible brown orbs that were staring back at him intently. “You cannot lie to me anymore, Sehun. I know with complete certainty that you feel something between us as well, I am not being delusional. Especially not after the things you said on the bridge...—” _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“What things?! There was a bridge?! There were things on a bridge?!” Jongin exclaims, turning to face the demon, who was avoiding eye contact with him. “Why’d you skip the bridge?!”

“Cuz’ it’s embarrassing!”

“So? I’m a whipped puppy in this life, it’s only fair that you show your vulnerability!”

Sehun looks over at the human, almost as if he were seriously considering it, “Nope, my memories, my rules,” he says, resuming the memory before Jongin could say another word. 

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_Continuing,_ **

_ Sehun now takes a step towards the prince, “Being with me means being banished from this kingdom and your father most likely disowning you. And possibly even sacrificing our lives. As you said before, it’s a death by a thousand cuts, and I just cannot let you throw your life away for me,” _

_ “You think that if I chose you, I would be throwing my life away? Well, it would be quite the opposite. My life will be far from wasted because I would have spent it with you,”  _

_ The scholar turns away to rub his hands over his face. A long silence permeates the air. The scholar doesn’t find it in himself to look at the prince. So he remains in his stance, back turned to Jongin and his head hung low. _

_ Jongin bites his lip. A small voice at the back of his head was sounding a rather loud message, one of doubt and uncertainty.  _

_ “Do you not want me?” the prince asks, suddenly, voice barely over a whisper.  _

_ Sehun turns to him, utterly appalled at the notion.  _

_ “If that is the case then just say so and I will remove myself from your life completely... I will tell my father that you will not be mentoring me any longer… And—” the prince pauses as if he’s physically incapable of uttering the words he’s about to say. _

_ “And I will marry Do Anseung’s son,— I will no longer torment you and I will spend the rest of my days with him... We will never see each other again, and—” _

_ Before the prince could finish, Sehun had cupped his soft cheeks in his warm hands and brought their faces closer. Jongin was effectively at a loss for words at their proximity. Even Sehun had his eyes wide open in surprise at his actions.  _

_ The scholar stares at the prince with intensity in his gaze. He sighs as his hands falter, then falls to rest on Jongin’s broad shoulders as his palms rest against his neck. Sehun bows his head, their foreheads now touching. “Of course, I want you, Jongin. More than you could ever imagine.— But I cannot let you jeopardize the long life you have ahead of you just to be with me,” he says, looking into the prince’s eyes. _

_ “When will you understand?” Now Jongin reaches to caress Sehun’s soft cheeks, “Without you, I am reduced to living a meaningless and unhappy life. I couldn't care less for my father’s approval, nor do I care if he has me banished! You said it yourself, if the love is strong, it is worth fighting for. Now answer me, do you love me enough to put up a fight for us?”  _

_ The scholar merely stares back at the teary-eyed prince standing before him. Sehun’s hands drop down to sway at his sides as he looks at the prince in sadness. _

_ After a few seconds that felt like an eternity of silence later, “Is that a no, then?” Jongin asks sadly, taking a small step away from Sehun. His hands slip from the scholar’s face and drop to his sides in defeat.  _

_ “I am sorry, Jongin, truly,” the scholar whispers.  _

_ The prince runs his hands through his hair when he feels the tears sting his eyes, he licks his lips and nods, defeated and dejected. He turns to face his back to the other and stops right in front of the door, hand outstretched to reach for the doorknob. He hesitates, hoping Sehun would run after him. But the scholar is planted in his spot.  _

_ He turns the knob slowly and takes one last look at the other man. He stood in the middle of the room, hands limp at his sides, watching every move Jongin made. They locked eyes, both were glimmering with tears threatening to spill out, from the moonlight that shone through Sehun’s windows.  _

_ ‘Please stop me,’ was the mantra Jongin repeated in his head when he finally pulled the door open to let himself out. He breaks eye contact with Sehun and says, “I wish you a long and full life, Sehun. Take care of yourself,” before walking out of the room, leaving the scholar standing in his dimly-lit room alone.  _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  
  


_ The silence overtakes Sehun’s senses, it seemed like nothing made any sort of sense anymore. Was this how the world always sat? Just quiet and empty? So dull and colorless. An unfamiliar coldness suddenly engulfs Sehun, and finally, a tear rolls down his porcelain cheeks. His eyes gravitate towards the moon, and then to his possessions.  _

_ Everything seems meaningless.  _

_ Finally, his eyes land on the jade marble the prince had given to him that fine and calm day. It seemed to be the only source of color and majesty in his now dull and gray room.  _

_ He slowly walks over to pick up the small marble in his fingers, he stares at the object intently before clutching it in his palm. He felt a strong urge release from within him, an urge that he'd been suppressing and ignoring for far too long. _

_ As if he was commanded, Sehun sprinted as fast as he could to the door.  _

_ Sehun hadn’t any idea what prompted him to run out the door and chase after the prince, but he just did. The action felt right, despite knowing that the result from it will only bring hardship to the pair.  _

_ Sehun whips his head in the two directions the prince could have taken and his eyes land on the slow-walking figure at the end of the hall. He runs as fast as his legs could take him and once he is close enough, he grabs Jongin’s arm.  _

_ The prince turned around in shock, but instead of the bright smile that Sehun was hoping to see, his expression remained unchanged. “What is it?” the prince asks, wiping the tears streaming down his face.  _

_ Sehun says nothing when he brings his free hand and cups Jongin’s chin and kisses him softly. He pulls away before Jongin could even get the chance to reciprocate the scholar’s actions. He rests his forehead against the prince’s, “When you left me in that room, for a fleeting moment, I finally understood what my life would be reduced to if you weren’t in it,” he says.  _

_ “It was a quiet and lifeless feeling. One that I do not want to relive ever again,” the scholar continues, _

_ “Sehun?—” _

_ Sehun smiles at the prince, “I love you, Jongin. When I saw the look in your eyes as I sent you away, it finally dawned on me just how much I do. I cannot bear to see you unhappy especially not when I know I caused it… There is nothing I want more than to see your radiant smile,” _

_ Jongin looks into Sehun’s eyes, full of love and longing. _

_ “I yield,” Sehun says, “I’m yours… I’m tired of holding myself back from showing that I want you. Because I do, Jongin, ever since our first lesson. Maybe even since I caught you staring at me in the bathhouse,— but the point is that—” _

__

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“Hey! Why’d you stop?!”

“I just said I loved you,”

“Him,” the human says suddenly, “What?” replies the demon. “You loved  _ him _ ,” Jongin corrects, pointing at his princely counterpart. “Right,— him,” he says, his voice going soft.

  
  
  


“Now play! I wanna see how cheesy you were!”

“No! You’ve seen enough. It’s embarrassing,”

After a beat of silence, “Did you say something like, ‘but the point is that I have loved you for some time now and I’m sorry you had to suffer because of me,’?” Jongin playfully jabs, doing a very bad impression of scholar Sehun in the process. But the demon only remains silent and continues to face the other way. 

Jongin looks at Sehun, mouth ajar, “I got that spot on, didn’t I?” he jests, a smirk growing on his face. 

“Oh, shut up,” Sehun mumbles, without any actual bite to his tone as the human laughs hysterically. 

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_Moments right after their confession,_ **

_ Sehun led Jongin to the bed, lips connected, hands clutching each other’s remaining garments. The prince moans against the scholar’s soft lips when Sehun expertly strips him of his cloak and nightshirt. Jongin cups Sehun’s jaw with one hand as he steadies himself on Sehun’s shoulder with the other. The scholar wraps his arm around Jongin’s waist, pressing their warm bodies together, their lips never parting in the process.  _

_ The prince feels his knees buckle when Sehun pushes him up against the footboard of his bed. Sehun lifts Jongin to sit on the edge of the bed and continues to kiss him senselessly. Jongin parts his legs to fit Sehun in between them— _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“Woah! Woah! Woah! We’re not watching that!” 

“What? Why not?”

“So we can’t watch the bridge memory or your confession, but we can watch porn?!”

“Hey! I’ll have you know, it’s very good, and you might even get some tips to use on your  _ boyfriend _ ,”

“Oh, please,” the human says, rolling his eyes,

Sehun snickers, “You said that a lot,”

“Huh?— Oh,” Jongin quickly scrunches his face in the understanding of the demon’s retort. He slaps Sehun’s arm, while the other still has a smile on his face, “You did that a lot, too,” Sehun says. 

Jongin allows a ghost of a smile to break out on his face, “Stop,” he drawls. Sehun stays silent for a few seconds, holding back the retort threatening to spill out of his lips. He fails, “You never said that,” Sehun jabs. 

Jongin scoffs as he nudges the other’s arm playfully and he gets comfortable, resting his weight on one leg and crossing his arms, fully expecting the demon to just skip ahead of the sex. But was surprised when a door materialized in front of them. 

“Was that it?” Jongin asks, 

Sehun nods, “We’re done,”

“But— what happens with the resistance leader’s son? And do we—  _ they _ end up together?” 

A pregnant pause permeates the air. “What do you think?” the demon asks, his voice almost too weak to be heard but at the stillness of their surroundings, the question was as clear as day to Jongin’s ears. 

Sehun looks at the human with a tired and hurting look on his face. “What happened?” Jongin asks, without needing to ask whether or not they did end up together.

Sehun opens the door and holds out his arm leading Jongin out of the memory. He slowly walks to the neighboring door, keeping at a safe distance from it. Immediately, the door stood out to Jongin. 

Unlike the others, this door looked battered and old. Its golden plate was hanging by one last loose screw. Its doorknob no longer a spotless gold, instead, it was all scratched, dented, and its color had gone dull. The same goes for the rest of the door, there were cracks and deep dent marks in the wood, almost as if someone had clawed away at it. But what stood out most to Jongin about the door was that it was a deep blood-red, a stark contrast to its neighbors. 

“I won’t be going in with you this time if you don’t mind,” Sehun says quietly. Jongin looked at the demon as if he’d just grown a second head, “Why not?” he asks. 

“I can’t bear to live through it again,” Sehun says in an even quieter voice than before.  _ ‘What happened that was so bad that he’s being like this now?’ _ Jongin questions.

“Ok, I understand,” Jongin says nevertheless, approaching the door nervously. He licked his lips and swallowed down the saliva building up in his mouth. He takes a deep breath as he stretches his hand out to grab the doorknob. 

At this moment, Jongin didn’t know why he wanted to know so badly. Any sensible person would have the decency not to pry in the unfortunate circumstances of others. He could’ve gone through this life without knowing what had happened in his past life, but something in Jongin was screaming, begging to know. 

As he was reaching out to clasp the scratched up knob, Sehun’s hand had beat him to it. 

“I changed my mind,” Sehun starts, “It isn’t fair that I’m making you watch this alone, this is my suffering I should also be there to protect you from it,” he says. Jongin looks at the demon in… was it fondness? Jongin wasn’t sure, but he watched as Sehun bravely turned the knob and opened the door with a creak. 

Sehun made a gesture with his hand as he said, “After you,” Jongin shot the demon with a look before stepping into the memory. Before going any further, Jongin turned back to look at the hesitant demon. 

The human smiled warmly at the man, raising his hand with his palm open for Sehun to take, much like what the demon had done when he was entering the portal. “It’s gonna be alright,” he reassures, “If it gets too difficult to bear we can leave,” he says. 

Sehun looks at the man’s hand in surprise. His eyes dart between the human’s hand and the memory before finally settling on Jongin’s smiling face. The demon smiles back and takes Jongin’s hand as he steps into the memory, letting the red door shut behind them. 

  
  
  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [X](https://twitter.com/beammeup_94)


	4. The Agreement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun and Jongin traverse through the contents behind the red door.

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_Some weeks after that day,_ **

_ Bliss filled the scholar and the prince’s days after their first night together. The discreet glances they took when they would pass each other on the royal estate, the short and sweet notes they slipped each other during lessons, and Jongin’s late-night visitations to Sehun’s quarters became a practiced routine for the pair. Although the arrival of the resistance leader’s son was inevitable, the mentor and pupil took every chance they were given to spend as many hours of the day with each other.  _

_ The light from the early morning sun shined through the windows of Sehun’s quarters. Bright beams of light shine on the entangled limbs resting comfortably under a thin sheet. The prince had his head tucked under Sehun’s chin as the scholar ran his blunt fingernails along Jongin’s bare and smooth back.  _

_ “Father tells me that Do Anseung and his son will arrive in a few days,”  _

_ “I know. One of your father’s advisors told me, once they arrive, my services as your mentor are no longer required,” _

_ Jongin, alarmed at the news, looks at the scholar in worry, “Are you being sent away?” he asks.  _

_ “No. Thankfully, I am still welcome to lodge here, and on the occasion that you will need to be taught about an impending war or anything of the sort, I will be your tutor,”  _

_ Jongin exhales the breath he was holding back in relief, “Good, I shan’t even imagine what would become of me if you were being sent away,” _

_ “I can imagine we both would be miserable and would have irritatingly unsatisfied urges,”  _

_ Jongin laughed against Sehun’s chest, “Right you are,” he says, letting the sound of Sehun’s breathing and steady heartbeat fill his ears.  _

_ “Sehun?” Jongin calls out, after some silence, “What happens after I marry whoever this man is?  _

_ “I’m afraid I don’t know,” _

_ “Will we still be permitted to see each other?” _

_ “With all due respect, your highness, I doubt we were allowed to conduct extracurricular activities in my bed-chamber in the first place,” _

_ Jongin smiles at the retort. The smile quickly wiped away at the thought of never being allowed to touch, let alone see Sehun ever again. Jongin thinks of the wretchedness and the horror of living a life without Sehun in it, he couldn’t possibly imagine it.  _

_ “Will you still love me even if I belonged to another?” _

_ Sehun takes the prince’s chin into his fingers and directs his head to look up at him. “With my entire being, love,” he says with complete confidence.  _

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_A few days later,_ **

_ The palace was in chaos. Guards scrambled to their posts, while ladies maids straightened out any sign of imperfection. Do Anseung and his son were both expected to arrive before lunch. King Munmu ordered an extravagant feast for the guests with only their finest delicacies. The cooks in the palace kitchens were slaving away over the heat of the fire to make nothing short of delicious for the esteemed guests. _

_While the palace’s employees scrambled to make a presentable display, Jongin quietly sat in the library. He knew his lessons were now finished, but he had hoped that Sehun would at least wish him luck before he meets the resistance leader._

_Before long the doors to the library swung open revealing the scholar neatly dressed, looking as handsome as the first time Jongin had laid eyes on him. The prince smiles, “Why is it that you were never once early for our lessons, but now that this will be the last time I’ll be seeing you, you’ve become eager,” Sehun teases._

_Jongin playfully frowns at that, “Why can’t we still see each other?”_

_“I meant this will be the last time I shall be seeing you as my pupil,”_

_Jongin’s frown only grows, “I’m nervous, Sehun,” he admits. The scholar takes Jongin’s hand into his own, brings it up to his lips, and presses a soft kiss on Jongin’s knuckles. “You will do splendidly, I’m sure,”_

_The prince suddenly throws his arms around the scholar, engulfing the other in an embrace. “I meant, I’m nervous about losing you,” Jongin says, words muffled in the soft fabric of Sehun’s hanbok. “You could never lose me, Jongin,” Sehun reassures, dragging his hand up and down the prince’s back._

_“How do you know for sure?”_

_The scholar leans back to lay his gaze on the saddened prince, their arms still wrapped around each other. Sehun brings his hand up to caress Jongin’s cheek, “I would much sooner drop dead than lose you, my love,”_

_“As would I,” Jongin presses his lips against Sehun’s, their kiss signifying an unspoken promise between the lovers of their undying love for each other. The scholar, although calm and collected at first, let himself go in the kiss. Letting his emotions shine through as their lips molded against each other in a practiced dance._

_The tender moment was cut short, however, by the sound of a knock on the door. The pair reluctantly pull away from each other as Jongin sternly asks, “Yes, what is it?”, “Do Anseung and his son have arrived, your Highness. And the king is asking for you,” the voice says. “I shall join him momentarily, thank you,” the prince replies, hesitantly._

_Jongin leaves Sehun with one last look before slowly walking to the doors of the library. He turns around to see the scholar watching him as he walked away, “The best of luck to you, my prince,” Sehun says, a soft smile of reassurance gracing his face._

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


_Jongin descends the stairs into the throne room. He didn’t bother himself to rush, besides, he wasn’t for this union in the first place. He saunters to his post, paying no mind the glare his father was giving him. He clears his throat and straightens out his hanbok._

_In the corner of his eye, he could see a distant figure watching him. He did his best to resist the urge to look at him but ultimately failed in doing so. He turns his head and locks eyes with the scholar._

_Sehun dons a reassuring smile on his face and curtly nods. As Jongin was about to mouth a discreet profession of his feelings, the master of ceremonies announces the resistance leader and his son’s presence._

_ Jongin reluctantly turns back to the door and puts his “princely” face on. The doors open to reveal the resistance leader, most likely weary from his travels, walking side by side with his son.  _

  
  


__ ˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


Jongin’s eyes nearly bulge out of their sockets upon seeing the man. “Kyungsoo?” he murmurs. The memory continues to play in front of them as the human turns to look at the demon. “The resistance leader’s son was Kyungsoo?” he asks.

The demon casts his eyes downward poignantly. “Yeah,” Sehun mumbles, pausing the memory just when Kyungsoo was about to introduce himself. “Are you alright?” Jongin asks. He sees the demon’s eyes flit upwards to stare at the pair, “Yeah, it’s just— can we skip this?” he asks. 

Jongin watches as the demon breathes deeply, his head down, eyes firmly shut, and fists clenched. The human suddenly feels a wave of guilt wash over him, “We can stop here if you’d like. I’m sorry I even pressed you into doing this. We should go now,”

“No… I need to see this, one last time before... “

Jongin stares at the demon curiously, “Before what?” he asks. The demon exhales sharply, “You asked me earlier what I wanted out of my father’s inheritance,”

The human nods, urging Sehun to continue. “There’s a potion… with only one known vial in existence. And it’s in Satan’s vault. It’s called  _ Oblivscere _ , which is Latin for ‘to forget’. What it does is, it gives the drinker the chance to erase chosen memories from their mind as if they never happened. The beauty of the potion is, how flawless it is in covering up the cracks. Any trace of the memories will forever be erased,”

Jongin stares at the demon, “You want to forget me?” his voice coming out as a whisper. Sehun, fully expecting Jongin to correct himself, is pleasantly surprised when the human says nothing of the sort. 

The demon stares back at the human and he feels his heartache, his eyes begin to well up with tears as he licks his lips. “There’s something you should know… about my agreement with Satan,” Sehun says tiredly. 

“Actually, I think it might be best if I just showed you,” he says but before he could fast forward his memory, Jongin grabs his arm, “You don’t have to do this for me,”

“I need to do this for myself. And… you deserve to know,” Sehun says, looking into Jongin’s glimmering brown eyes. 

The memory passes quickly in front of the pair and they land on a disheveled scholar in what looked like a secluded and far-off stretch of land on the royal grounds. He was holding a piece of paper with only the light of his lamp providing him with warmth and clarity. His hair and hanbok blew in the wind as he squinted down at the paper.

“A little over a year had passed. The prince and Do Anseung’s son had gotten married in the summer of that year,” Sehun explains, “Obviously, the prince and the scholar still made time to see each other, but as the prince spent more time with his husband due to their royal duties, the scholar felt neglected and more than anything, scared of losing his beloved,” he says. 

Although it was dark, Jongin could very clearly see the tears in Sehun’s eyes as he spoke but he chose not to ask or interrupt the demon. “So, the scholar busied himself in his work, he did research and he happened to stumble upon an ancient myth, a set of instructions on how to make a pact with the King of the Underworld. At first, the scholar, being the mentally sound man he was, considered it complete bullshit,” The demon pauses for a second, turning away to wipe the tears out of his eyes as Jongin averts his eyes out of courtesy of the other.

“But one night, when the prince visited the scholar after so long, all the prince could talk about was how amazing his husband was and how close they’ve gotten. After hearing all of this, the scholar had had enough, he couldn’t stand  the thought of his beloved falling into the arms of someone else. So, out of desperation, he turned to the myth,”

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


**_April 671_ **

_ Sehun holds his lamp over the paper he had written the instructions and incantation on. He squints, trying to make sense of his handwriting.  _

_ He followed the instructions, he found a stick and promptly drew the figure into the soil. He slit his palm and let his blood dribble down onto the damp soil beneath him. Shakily, he says the incantation, blood still dripping from his palm.  _

_ When nothing happens for a few seconds, Sehun can’t help but scoff at his gullibility. He takes his handkerchief from his pocket and wipes the blood off his hand and wraps it up as a makeshift bandage before turning away.  _

_ Just as he was about to leave, he hears a low rumbling from beneath him. The scholar turns back around to see if anything had happened and suddenly the ground began to crack as if something was erupting from underneath it. And something,— someone, rather, did come out from the depths of the earth.  _

_ The man, if you could call it that, had long horns sprouting out of the crown of his head. His entire lower body was that of a goat’s, so was his head. His torso, however, was that of a well-toned human. He towered over Sehun, looking at the scholar with his glowing red eyes. As he sauntered around the figure Sehun had drawn in the soil, his hooves clopped along the grassy terrain, the soil still cracked open with a fire-like glow coming from the depths below.  _

_ The scholar did his best to mask his fear, however, that proved to be a challenge when this goat-looking creature stood before him menacingly.  _

_ “Well? Why did you summon me?” The goat-looking creature asks impatiently, his voice hoarse and commanding, “I want to make a pact with you,” Sehun says, with as much courage as he could muster at this moment. Satan smirks, “I figured, what is it that you wish?” he asks.  _

_ Sehun purses his lips, “Before we begin, do you have another form… that you can transfigure into?” he asks. The devil looked at the human curiously, “What’s wrong with what I look?” he asks, irritation laced loosely in his words. “I’m just worried that you might cast appall, and possibly even alert the palace guards,” Sehun says.  _

_ The goat-looking man rolls his eyes, “Humans,” he mumbles snarlingly under his breath before snapping his fingers and turning into a much shorter form. He was around the same height at Sehun, wearing garments the scholar had _

_ never seen before. The devil was, well, handsome, understandably so, seeing as he needed to charm and tempt unwitting mortals into doing his dirty work.  _

__

_ “Happy?” the devil taunts but Sehun could only nod. “Let’s keep this meeting as short as possible, I have prior engagements to attend to,” Satan says impatiently, “What do you want, and what are you willing to bargain?” he asks.  _

__

_ “I read that my eternal soul would suffice as a bargain,” Sehun says, “Yes, it would, but depending on your wish, the exchange should be equal,” the man, still inside the figure Sehun drew on the soil says.  _

__

_ “There is a prince—” _

_ “There always is,” _

_ “And I want to be with him forever,” _

__

_ A smirk coils its way onto Satan’s face, “That’s your wish?” he asks, “Yes,” Sehun says. “Well, then your eternal soul won’t suffice, as you mentioned, you wish to be with this prince,  _ **_forever_ ** _. Meaning you won’t die, and even if you do, you would be reincarnated to be with him again,”  _

__

_ Sehun blinks, “So what do you suggest?”  _

_ Satan stares at the human in what seemed like confusion and surprise, “You’re asking for my opinion?” _

_ “Yes… Was that not clear?” _

_ Satan eyes the human in disdain because of his remark. However, he was intrigued by the scholar’s eagerness. He stays silent in thought for a few seconds and he shrugs, “You could be a demon,” he suggests. _

__

_ “You mean, I’d work for you?” _

_ “Yes, basically,” _

_ “What do demons do?” _

_ “Paperwork, mostly. And of course the tasks I have set for them. They have the luxury of keeping their current form as well as the power to transform into any form of their choosing. They have the same magical capabilities as sorcerer’s and have significantly acute senses,” _

_ “Is that not far too advantageous on their part?” _

_ “They spend eternity in hell, I think it’s a rather fair trade,”  _

__

_ Sehun licks his lips, he looks at the devil’s glowing red eyes, “Deal,” he says, holding out his hand. The devil laughs, “You’re an eager one,” he says, outstretching his hand to shake Sehun’s.  _

__

_ When the devil’s hand slips out of Sehun’s grasp, he suddenly grew cold, and then in an instant, warm. He could feel his body go stiff and then suddenly weak. “What’s happening to me?” Sehun asks, frantically. “You’re turning into a demon,” _

__

_ Soon, Sehun was being levitated into the air, spinning slowly. He looks down at the devil who watched as he floated up. Sehun stops at a certain height and is suspended there. Suddenly, a bolt of lightning strikes right through him.  _

__

_ Sehun gently floated down and is now face to face with Satan again. “Am I a demon now?” he asks, “Nearly…” _

__

_ Satan hands Sehun a quill and holds up a scroll, “Use your blood as ink,” the devil instructs. The scholar licks his lips in uncertainty but follows the instructions. He slowly signs his name onto the scroll and as he finishes, it snaps out of existence along with the quill. _

__

_ “I look forward to our future partnership, Sehun,” Satan says, smirking at the demon. Before long, the devil sunk into the soil, as if he was being devoured by the earth until no trace of their meeting was to be seen.  _

__

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

_  
  
_

“So that’s how you became a demon,” Jongin says. “But… you said he cheated you out of your agreement,” the human continues. 

__

Sehun purses his lips and the memory fast forwards to the scholar’s bedroom on a rainy night. 

_  
  
_

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

__  
  


**_A few days after Sehun turned into a demon_ **

__

_ Sehun looks out his rain-drop covered window at the sound of a loud thunderclap. He was so distracted by the weather, he nearly didn’t hear the knocks on his door. The scholar scrambles to hide the paperwork the underworld had sent to him, along with the handbook of demons, that thoroughly amused Sehun of the irony.  _

__

_ He stuffed them in his clothes closet and straightens himself out before opening his door.  _

__

_ The scholar brightens up at the sight of the prince looking at him. In his excitement, Sehun fails to notice the prince’s serious demeanor. Sehun instinctively leans in to leave a kiss on Jongin’s lips, but the prince turns his head, making Sehun’s kiss land on his cheek instead. _

__

_ “Is there something wrong?” The scholar asks, finally noticing the guilty look on Jongin’s face.  _

__

_ “There’s something we need to discuss, Sehun,” Jongin says. Sehun merely nods and steps aside, to let Jongin into his room.  _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [X](https://twitter.com/beammeup_94)


	5. The Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sehun relives the pain, but this time he isn't alone.

˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


“I’m sorry I keep pausing I just—” 

The human looks at the demon, wiping the tears welling up in his eyes, and feels himself go soft for the other. In a sign of solidarity and support, Jongin reaches out for Sehun’s free hand and clasps it gently in his own. 

Sehun halts his actions and looks down at their connected hands. The demon looks back up at the human, slightly wide-eyed and lost for words. 

“It’s gonna be alright,” Jongin says, “Take as long as you want… and feel free to skip and pause as much as you need,” the human continues, his warm grip on the demon’s hand never faltering. 

There was something about the way Sehun looked at Jongin at this moment that made the human almost feel as if he were floating. Like he fell into the abyss that was Sehun’s dark brown eyes and he never wanted to escape from them, nor the demon’s warm hands.

“I’ll just fast forward a bit, I’d like to get this over with as soon as possible,” Sehun finally says as he breaks eye-contact with the human. Jongin, gaze never leaving the demon’s frame, merely nods as he pays no attention to the passing memory. 

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


_“What I’m trying to say is,... we should stop this now,”_

_The scholar nearly burst into tears right then, but he fought them back, and never let his gaze leave the prince standing before him. Sehun strides to Jongin, resting his hands on the prince’s sides, “What brought this on, darling?” he asks._

_The prince’s face contorts into one of discomfort when the word ‘darling’ escaped the scholar’s lips. “I do not know,” he says._

_Desperation was taking over Sehun’s senses, he needed to try and convince Jongin not to do this, not now, not after what he’d done._

_“Have you lost your feelings for me?”_

_“That’s the problem,” Jongin visibly hesitates, looking down at his twiddling his fingers, before mustering up the courage to look up at the scholar._

_“I’m not sure if I ever truly felt **anything** for you,” The prince says, voice barely above a whisper. _

_Suddenly, Sehun’s legs go weak, as if his body had suddenly become all too much to handle. The scholar stumbles back onto his bed, gripping the side post as he finally averted his eyes and allowed a tear to trickle down his cheeks._

_“This why I’ve come to tell you this has to end now. I’m a married man, Sehun. It would be unfair to both my husband and you if we go on with this,”_

_At that moment, as the scholar sat quietly on his bed, the gravity of the whole situation finally dawns on Sehun. He had just given up his immortal soul and life for a man who now wants nothing to do with him. He ought to say something, anything to fight for the prince’s affection, but nothing escapes his lips apart from sharp intakes of breath._

_Jongin could not bear to see Sehun in this state, especially not since he was the one causing it. Jongin purses his lips, darting his eyes around the scholar’s bedroom as if the details within the 4 corners of the room weren’t already etched into his brain._

_His eyes eventually land on the teary-eyed scholar, who throughout this whole ordeal, was now not choosing to say anything._

_The prince inhales deeply before finally saying, “I’m not ordering you to vacate the grounds,— stay here as long as you’d like… It’s the least I can do—”_

_Jongin sighs, “I— I’m very sorry, truly. If I’d known that my feelings for you were just—”_

_“Do you love him?” Sehun asks tiredly, eyes still staring out at the raining scene outside of his window._

_When he hears no response from the prince, the scholar turns his head in the man’s direction only to find Jongin staring back at him, teary-eyed, hopeless, and more than anything guilty._

_Sehun couldn’t bear this any longer. He had just gotten his heart wrenched out of his chest and now all he feels is numb, cold, and very tired._

_The scholar nods in defeat, “I understand… If you don’t mind, I’d like to be alone now,” he says, shakily._

_The prince’s shoulders slump slightly as he stares at the crying scholar. He purses his lips before walking towards the door._

_“Can I say one last thing?”_

_Sehun looks up to see the prince looking back at him, apologetic. It is at this moment Sehun realizes he’ll never get the opportunity to speak to the prince again nor see him in all his beautiful radiance and yet, even in sadness, Jongin still looked as warm and bright as he first saw him._

_“I will not deny that you made me very happy. Whoever has the good fortune of being loved by you is certainly going to be very lucky indeed… And— I want to thank you, for the blissful moments we shared and for showing me what love could be,”_

_Jongin licks his plush lips, before saying, “The best of luck to you,— Sir,”_

_In all of their lessons, not once, did the prince refer to the scholar as a Sir or any honorific for that matter. Sehun will admit that at the time, he found it very irresponsible of the young royal, but now, he wants nothing more than for Jongin to burst out laughing, say this was all a ruse. A joke. and that everything he had just said was completely untrue. Then, they would laugh and everything would be fine because Sehun could live in the reassurance that he had not lost his beloved._

_But the prince said nothing else._

_“And you,” Sehun replies, with the last ounce of his dignity, “Your highness,”_

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


Oddly enough, upon hearing the scholar’s last words, Jongin feels an odd sensation building in the pit of his stomach. It feels like pity, but more than anything it feels like guilt. 

Jongin glances at the demon. Sehun had his head down, doing his best to stifle the sobs threatening to escape his lips. The memory paused, as the crying scholar watching as the prince walked out of his bedroom for the last time.

The human turns to the demon, letting go of his hand and gently rubbing small concentric circles on his back. “You don’t have to be strong for me… Let it all out,” he says. The demon turns to look at the human and Jongin swears he feels the last of his tethers snap. What those tethers were tied to, he doesn’t know, but he does know, the look on Sehun’s face was enough for the human to force a reassuring smile on his face. 

Not long after, Sehun begins sobbing. Tears flowed down his cheeks as he fell to the floor. Jongin almost sheds a tear or two at the sound of Sehun’s uncontrollable sniffling and muffled cries. 

“Why are you doing this to yourself?” Jongin asks, kneeling beside him, “You’re going to forget about all this anyway, what’s the point of putting yourself through this?” he continues, a little more desperation in his tone. 

The demon looks up at Jongin, eyes bloodshot, cheeks damp, nose red. The sight of him nearly made Jongin burst into tears. 

“Think of it as—” Sehun sniffles, “—Saying goodbye,” 

  
  


˗ˏˋ❀ˊˎ˗

  
  


_**Days later,** _

_The scholar couldn’t bring himself to leave his room in the past few days. Feeling too melancholic and broken for anything he lay in his bed, wrapping himself in his blankets, sniffing out what remained of Jongin’s addicting scent._

_Every night that passed, he silently prayed that the prince would come rushing into his room and ask him to forget everything he had said a few nights ago. But as the days stretched into weeks, and weeks into months, the other palace staff were beginning to fear for the scholar’s health._

_See, in all that time he spent in his room, he refused to eat anything. He didn’t even bother to stand from the warm bed that reminded him of the blissful moments he shared with the prince. He liked to imagine waking up next to Jongin, gloriously sun-kissed with his lips parted just a bit as he slept and maybe even traces of his drool in the corner of his mouth. These thoughts usually ended up with Sehun feeling even more broken, but he never changed._

_Even so much as a knock on his door, got Sehun feeling hopeful, wishing that it was the prince on the other side of his door. But, of course, they always just ended up being a maid or whoever asking him if he wanted anything. He never asked for anything. The one thing, well, person, he wanted was now well out of his reach._

_Months pass like a blur. Just as the last of Jongin’s scent disappears from the bedsheets, the scholar finally finds the strength within himself to leave the comforts of his bed. However, the past feeling of sorrow and regret are now only lacing his current emotion, anger, and betrayal._

_It rained that night. But not even the strongest of storms could cure Sehun of his rage. He fights the push of the wind against his tall frame as he walks briskly to the hill upon which he had his first encounter with the devil._

_He reconstructs the figure into the soil by memory. He drags the blade across his palm, not even wincing at the pain as he watches as his blood drips onto the soil. He recites the incantation and waits._

_Just as it had before, the soil begins to break apart at his feet, and out comes the devil in his human form. He stood before Sehun with a smirk._

_It took everything Sehun had left in him not to punch the smug smirk on the devil’s face._

_“How’s the prince?” he taunts, crossing his arms._

_“What have you done?!” is what Sehun wished he said._

_He wished he got angry, screamed at the top of his lungs, but he’d been too tired and too broken to put up a fight with the man._

_Instead, he all could say was, “Why?”. The question comes out much more pathetic than the scholar had ever sounded in his life, not that he cared about upholding his dignity any longer. At least, not in his current state._

_The devil shrugs, “I was only honoring my side of the pact. You wished to be with your prince, and I quote, ‘ **forever** ’. So I gave you forever,”_

_“Why has he left me, then? Why did he choose **him**?”_

_A fake surprised face slaps itself onto the devil’s face as he gasps comically. “Oh, no! He’s left you?!” he mocks, cupping his cheeks. “Oh, Whatever should we do?!” he says in an over-the-top manner. But this hadn’t amused the scholar as he continued to glare at the man._

_“I was only following your wish,” the devil says normally, crossing his arms. “What part of this was in our agreement?!” Sehun argues._

_“You said ‘I want to be with him forever’,” Satan shrugs, “So I gave you forever with him,” he says, in quite the chipper mood. “But he’s left me! I doubt forever has already passed!” the scholar remarks._

_“Oh,— oh… You poor, poor soul—” The devil mocks. “—Well, you’re a demon, now, I doubt you’d have one, but I think it still applies,” he says smugly._

_“What are you talking about?”_

_“When you said you wanted to spend eternity with him, I’m afraid you were much too vague about your wish,”_

_“Meaning?”_

_“Meaning, I interpreted your statement as such, you want to be with this prince forever… **platonically** , that is,”_

_Sehun can feel his heart drop to the depths of his stomach, his eyes go wide as his brows furrow. His face shows utter grief and devastation, “That’s why he loves his husband, now,” he says, barely over a whisper._

_“Shouldn’t one love their spouse?” Satan ridicules, “Isn’t it in the Bible… or whatever the hell that thing’s called?”_

_“Before him, Jongin loved **me** ,” Sehun grits._

_Satan only scoffs, “Not anymore he won’t… And he never will, thanks to you,”_

_Suddenly feeling very energetic, Satan goes on to say, “And although I do enjoy watching people suffer, I can be nice,”. The statement doesn’t ease Sehun’s distress._

_“So, I gave you just the tiniest bit of motivation as you go on to live for eternity,” he says all this with a rather eerie smile on his face until, in a snap, his face goes blank and serious._

_“In every lifetime he lives through, you shall meet him,” Sehun so nearly rejoices._

  
_“But— no matter what you do, no matter how hard you try, no matter how far your efforts get you, he will **always** choose him… over you,” _

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [X](https://twitter.com/beammeup_94)

**Author's Note:**

> [<3](https://twitter.com/beammeup_94)
> 
> I know I already posted this, but let's just pretend I didn't 😅. I just made some edits to this fic. Nothing too major in terms of plot, it's mostly just me being the nitpicker that I am. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this first chapter, comments and kudos are always appreciated ☺️.


End file.
